Aideen McKenna
Lt. Cmdr. Aideen McKenna has served over five years as a Grifter pilot on the Enterprise NX-01 Squadron. Background Aideen was a military brat. In fact most McKenna's had been military brats going back as far in family history as anyone could remember. Her Grandfather held a flag rank in Starfleet's predecessor and he was only one in a long line of McKenna's to achieve such a rank. Aideen grew up on bases, starships and space stations. She spent the majority of her early life on Mars, where her father was in command of the planetary defense squadrons. Aideen would spend hours laying on the grass just beyond the fence lines and watch the fighter; transports and other craft take off and land. She longed for the day she could join them in the sky and beyond. It was perfect freedom, she imagined, to be there in the sky, nothing but you and your craft in perfect synch. Destruction of Mars Then came that awful day when she was twelve. The sky burned over mars. Those beautiful fighters fell like rain from the heavens and like so many children that day; Aideen would never see her parents again. Being orphaned by the Xindi attack was hardly a unique thing for a girl of her age. There were countless numbers of children in the same situation and they were the lucky ones. Survivors of her father's command or her mother's Intelligence station did their best to make the transition tolerable for her. Life on Gaia Aideen, like many of the war orphans, found herself raised in the Kibbutz like environment of what was left of the human race. Tight bonds were formed among the orphaned children of humanity, bonds that would serve them well in the years to come. Gaia was a boon to them, giving them a place to call home and establish and identity but for Aideen's generation home would never mean safety again. There was little question that Aideen like most of her generation would join Star fleet to defend their new home against the threats facing a now perilously fragile human race. Starfleet Aideen joined Starfleet as soon as she was able. She attended the Academy, specializing in flight operations and navigation. Aideen proved herself to be a natural and gifted flier. Following graduation from the Academy, she piloted shuttles and smaller, more manouvreable craft until the establishment of the Gryphon Fighter Program. Signing up, she soon became the first generation of Grifters. Aideen has an instinctive gift for maneuver and aerobatics which was later sharpened to a razors edge by the tutelage of former C.O. Aaron Tobin making her one of the finest aerobatic and precision maneuver pilots in the Fleet. The Great War Aideen had only been assigned to the NX-01 for a few months when the Great War began. She remained on the NX-01 through out the conflict taking part in numerous missions and sorties. During a joint exercise with the Endeavor Aideen met Mason McCulloch and Daniel Redding of the Endeavor's Grifter Squadron. Aideen began a relationship with Redding that would continue through out the war whenever their circumstances allowed. Aideen was present at the battle of Azati Prime and one of the few Gryphon pilots to emerge from it unscathed. Following the battle she participated in rescue efforts including aiding in the recover of Mason McCulloch.. ArchAngels Years of war had left the Gaia and the newly formed Federation in need of a moral boost. Seizing on the naturally dashing image of the Gryphon pilots an exhibition squadron was created to tour the Federations worlds providing entertainment, reassurance of the strength of Starfleet and a show of unity created by the various species represented in the squadron dubbed the Arch-Angels. Aideen's first inclination was to refuse the position because she had no desire for the spot light or to be held up as a hero when she felt that there were many more deserving pilots then herself. She changed her mind upon learning that Danny had been selected as well. The chance for them to be together was worth the rest of the political BS involved. The tour and the Arch-Angel's lasted exactly three months. During a show on Gaia while executing the most dangerous pass of their precision flying exhibition someone screwed up. Aideen and the show's other soloist, Peter Vlask's Gryphons nearly collided in mid-air. Aideen broke the pattern at the last moment to avoid the collision. The rest of the squadron was forced to take evasive action as well the fact that most of them succeed was a testament to Starfleets faith in them. Danny's plane and Vlask's plane clipped wings as they had passed. The other soloist was able to eject but Danny's plan might have struck viewing stands so he remained with the plane to steer it away from the civilians and perished in the crash. Solitude Aideen took a leave of absence from Starfleet in the wake of the accident, fully intending to resign her commission after a cooling off period. She returned to Gaia and to the Catamaran she and Danny had purchased, the Dawn Chaser. She remained on the boat for three months exploring the Hornblower Sea and living on the water, venturing back to a settlement only when she needed supplies. One resupply trip happened to correspond to a visit from Mason who managed to convince her to return to Starfleet and to the NX-01 as his squadron XO. Personality Aideen is passionate and quick tempered, though she usually cools off just as quickly. Sudden quick death is a stark reality for her and the rest of her generation. There's not point in holding anything back so put it all on the line every time. She isn't big on restraint in anything. When its time to party it might be last party so make it a good one. When its time to love someone you may never have another chance so make it a romance that sets furniture on fire. And when you fly push it the edge every time, cause if you die in the sky at least your feet weren't on the ground. Statistics *'Rank:' Lieutenant Commander XO NX-01 Gryphon Squadron *'Callsign:' Phoenix *'Height:' 5'7" *'Hair:' Brown *'Eyes:' Hazel *'Any other distinguishing marks:' tattoo of a phoenix on the small of her back. Tribal Tattoo on nape of neck with the name Danny *''Age: ''30 *'Gender:' F *'Place of Birth:' Mars (Utopia Planetia) *'Date of Birth: '''03/05/41 *'Race/ Species: ''' Human